A Blueprint For Change

9:00 AM	Registration, Breakfast & Networking
10:00 AM	Welcome Remarks by EMCEE Skye Ostreicher
10:05 AM	Welcome Remarks by Whittaker Mack, III, Chair, URI's Board of Trustees
10:10 AM	Opening Remarks: Nathaniel Fields, CEO, Urban Resource Institute
10:15 AM	Keynote Speaker: Dr. Dawnn J. Lewis, a stage and screen star, philanthropist, and gender-based violence survivor
10:35 AM	Flexible Funding as a Vital Anti-Violence Tool: Coercive Control Embedded in Our Systems Nearly all survivors of domestic violence report having experienced domestic violence. Many of those survivors report economic abuse as among the primary reasons that they stay in or return to an abusive situation. Addressing economic abuse with individualized programming while advocating for systems-level policy change is imperative in supporting survivors to access long-term economic stability, safety, and permanent housing. Many of the systems that administer support to survivors are economically coercive, ie. Significant strings attached to forms of public assistance, reluctance to provide survivors with direct cash assistance. Changing these systems to better support survivors and their families is vital to survivors achieving safety and stability. Dr. Carla Smith, Deputy CEO, Urban Resource Institute (Moderator) Teal Inzunza, Program Director, URI Economic Empowerment Program Karen Ford, Executive Director, New York City Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services Laura A. Russell, Esq., Citywide Director, Family/Domestic Violence Unit, The Legal Aid Society Andy Morrison, Associate Director, New Economy Project
11:35 AM	Removing Roadblocks to Safety: Human-Animal Co-living Enhances Shelter Access and Healing Survivors with pets report that they have or would struggle to leave an abusive situation if they had to leave a pet behind. URI’s PALS shelters are the only ones in NYC that allow people to bring their pets. Pets are a source of comfort, and in many cases are a target of abuse. URI’s PALS (People and Animals Living Safely) has been allowing survivors of domestic violence and their families to co-live with their pets in the safety of our temporary housing, making it easier for survivors to access safety. Co-living with pets has a profound impact on healing. In addition to the prohibition against pets in shelter, other artificial barriers prevent people from accessing shelter. Single adult survivors, members of the LGBTQIA+ community and older adults struggle to access temporary housing because the system refuses to implement reimbursement parity for single and double occupancy. Jennifer White-Reid, Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the CEO, URI (Moderator) Danielle Emery, Director of People and Animals Living Safely at URI (PALS) Katherine Compitus, Clinical Assistant Professor; Chair, Practice Curriculum Area; Director, Animal-Assisted Interventions post masters program Joslyn Carter, Agency Administrator, NYC Department of Homeless Services Farah Louis, NYC Council Member, Co-Chair, Women’s Caucus Christine Kim, Founder & Board Member, My Dog Is My Home Hope Dawson Sessoms, Founder, 1VICTORYDESIGNS; Survivor
12:45 PM	Lunch
1:45 PM	Keynote Remarks, Vanessa Gibson, Bronx Borough President
1:50 PM	Remarks by Darcel Clark, Bronx District Attorney
1:55 PM	Decriminalizing Domestic Violence: Investing in People Who Cause Harm is Investing in Survivors Rooted in the notion that all people are capable of change, URI’s Abusive Partner Intervention Program (APIP) works with people who cause harm who volunteer or are mandated by court to attend the program because they have been convicted of a crime associated with gender-based violence. APIP centers the experiences of survivors while requiring participants to take accountability for their actions while they work to understand the origins of their abusive behavior. Engaging people who cause harm in the work to end gender-based violence is an innovative and necessary intervention. We have seen the shortcomings of a criminal justice-only approach to gender-based violence. In the absence of trauma-informed interventions, CJ alone will not work. In addition, what is worse, many survivors are caught within the CJ system because of their status as survivors. Tamaris Princi, Director, Westchester APIP (Moderator) Nathaniel Tolbert, Clinical Director, Manhattan APIP Jara Traina, General Counsel & Director of the Bureau of Law and Public Safety, New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Dave M. Ryan, Director, Westchester High-Risk Team; Former Chief of Police, Pound Ridge Police Department Jacqueline P. Martin, DSL, LMSW, Deputy Commissioner, Division of Prevention Services, Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) Anne Patterson, LMSW, Deputy Commissioner, Community Initiatives and External Affairs, NYC Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence Dorthy Stucky Halley, LMSW, Halley Counseling Services P.A., Family Peace Initiative (virtual)
2:55 PM	Interrupting Intergenerational Violence: Youth-Led Relationship Abuse Prevention Programming (RAPP) Research shows that violent behavior begins as early as age 12. Young people who are exposed to violence – as either witnesses or victims – are at higher risk for experiencing or perpetrating violence later in life. Investing in youth violence prevention and healthy relationship programming, such as URI’s Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP) and Early RAPP programs has the potential to interrupt intergenerational cycles of violence and make our communities safer. RAPP empowers youth to lead efforts to end violence in families and communities. Dr. Elizabeth Lasky, PhD, LCSW, Early RAPP Supervisor, URI (Moderator) Carina Chavarria, RAPP Coordinator Alicka Ampry-Samuel, Regional Administrator, Region II, US Department of Housing and Urban Development Suzanne E. Miles-Gustave, Esq., Acting Commissioner/Executive Deputy Commissioner, New York State Office of Children and Family Services Council Member Rita Joseph, Chair, Education Committee
3:55 PM	Closing Remarks & Sessions Conclude

Urban Resource Institute (URI) helps domestic violence survivors and homeless families transform their lives by empowering individuals, families, and communities, particularly communities of color and other vulnerable populations, to end cycles of domestic violence, homelessness, poverty, and trauma by increasing safety and resiliency. As the largest provider of domestic violence shelter services in the US and a leading provider of homeless services, URI’s programs impact more than 40,000 individuals annually through prevention, intervention, education, and direct services in both residential and non-residential settings in New York. URI is recognized as a thought-leader with influence across the U.S. and beyond. For more information, visit www.urinyc.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and Twitter.

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